


Hell of a Story

by subtextismygod



Series: Reaching Out [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: I hope you like it, M/M, drarry au, fluff I wrote because I was bored, second task AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 06:42:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18632872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/subtextismygod/pseuds/subtextismygod
Summary: One was unfamiliar, with flowing white hair that looked like Fleur’s: that must be her sister.Two others were instantly familiar: Cho Chang and Hermione.The last one took Harry less than a second to recognize. Once he did, he immediately realized the answer to his question. The riddle played in his mind for the final time.Only one hour to save that which you love most.But what— or rather, who— did Harry love most?Draco Malfoy.





	Hell of a Story

_ That which you love most _ . 

What did Harry Potter love the most? It wasn’t his Firebolt: he had checked in its case and it was still there. Not Ron, because he was still asleep in the bed next to Harry’s. Hermione had gone to the library and never returned, but Harry wasn’t surprised. 

_ Which you love most _ . 

Were they allowed to take other things? Had they found Sirius and made him the bait? Neville was still safely in the dorm, Seamus and Dean were quietly cuddling in the common room. 

_ Which you love most.  _

What in the name of Merlin did they have to bait Harry?

Professor McGonagall found Harry in the Great Hall and escorted him down to the lakeside. He had the gillyweed clutched tightly in his hand, prepared for the task ahead. Prepared for everything but what he loved most. Cho? Ginny?

He lined up next to Cedric and Krum, Fleur was further down, tying her white hair into a tight braid and curling it into a bun. Cedric and Krum had nothing but their wands, and Harry was worried that he had somehow misinterpreted the challenge. 

Luckily enough, he hadn’t, and the horn sounded the beginning of the second task. The champions responded by leaping into the freezing waters, Harry downing his gillyweed before plunging into the icy depths. 

_ One hour to save that which you love most.  _

He had a sinking feeling that had nothing to do with his rapidly declining altitude in the water. Would ‘that which you loved most’ perish or die after the hour was up? Dumbledore would never allow his students to be in peril.

Would he?

He had allowed the Triwizard Tournament, which was prone to danger and… accidents. Would he let whatever the champions loved most be in danger, too? 

Harry quickly dispelled the notion and kept swimming. As he went deeper into the greenish waters, a low keening sound became audible. It sounded like nails scraping lightly on the chalkboard, but also with the melodic feel of a choir. It was hard for Harry to place where it came from, but a metallic gleam came from the left, so he paddled towards that.

He held his wand tightly in his webbed hand, trying to keep the terror from seeping into his entire body. It was a presence that he had trouble ignoring, something that couldn’t and wouldn’t go away.

A red light pulsated at the tip of Harry’s wand. The spell that Hermione had taught him and he had used was to tell how much time he had left. Half an hour, based on the light. 

The gleam drew brighter and closer, and Harry could just make out the tip of a silvery stone spire glittering in the water. 

Mermaids. 

That was the sound that Harry had heard before. The mermaids were singing. As he got closer, it actually sounded quite beautiful. He felt drawn into the melody as if it were wind chimes that were ringing merrily in the phantom breeze. It sounded vaguely familiar too, but he couldn’t figure out where he had heard it before. 

He could stay there, Harry realized. Never have to go back to Voldemort and the Dursleys and whatever else was out there. He could stay here for the rest of his life and never go back. He wanted to, he really did.

A mermaid with flaming red hair and a blackish silvery green tail swam towards him, and he finally realized. The clue to the task, the song, the riddle, that was what the tune was. And everything clicked back into place.

_ After one hour, that which you love most will be lost forever. _

Harry’s head snapped out of its daze and he looked around— there it was. Two massive pillars rose out of the lake bottom with chains wrapping around four bodies hanging limp and swaying in the current. One was unfamiliar, with flowing white hair that looked like Fleur’s: that must be her sister. 

Two others were instantly familiar: Cho Chang and Hermione. 

The last one took Harry less than a second to recognize. Once he did, he immediately realized the answer to his question. The riddle played in his mind for the final time.

_ Swim to the lake, but make haste. After an hour, it may be too late. Only one hour to save that which you love most.  _

But what— or rather, who— did Harry love most?

Draco Malfoy.

For some reason, Draco had captivated Harry since the moment they met on the Hogwarts Express. Harry had known that he was definitely not straight, given his obsession with Draco, for a while. Yet here he was, paddling towards him with the intent of saving him.

Then the thought hit him.  _ What would they all say when they saw him surface with a Slytherin? What would  _ Rita Skeeter  _ say in the  _ Daily Prophet  _ about it?  _ He could imagine the headline:  _ Harry Potter In Love With Son of Death Eater?  _ Was it really worth ruining his entire life for? Was  _ Draco  _ worth ruining his entire life for?

He looked over and saw Hermione, floating in the water with her head lolling to the side. He could grab her arm and take her to the surface instead. Force some other champion to save Draco. But he quickly ruled that out. Cedric wouldn’t save Draco: he was a Hufflepuff, but he held a grudge nonetheless. And Draco had done a lot to him. Krum wouldn’t, he barely even knew Draco. And Fleur? Too competitive, she wouldn’t even look twice as she took her sister and abandoned Draco.

So it was up to Harry to save Draco.

The light on his wand pulsated again. Fifteen minutes left. He had to make his choice quickly. Suddenly, he saw Cedric swim over, slice the bindings on Cho with a spell, and speed off, not sparing a glance for Harry. Three hostages left. 

Why was it always up to Harry to save people? Couldn’t someone else be selfless for once and let Harry think about himself for once and do something for himself?

There was Krum, with the head of a shark. He cut Hermione free and swam to the surface. Two left. It was only Fleur and her sister left, and Harry couldn’t make up his mind. 

But then, maybe, saving Draco would be Harry’s chance at selfishness. Doing it for him and not to please the rest of the school. No, the rest of the Wizarding World. Thoughts raced through his mind as the minutes passed. The light flickered. Five minutes. Time was fading fast, too fast. 

Harry looked at Fleur’s sister, still not saved. Then he looked at Draco. He looked peaceful in the water, none of his usual swagger or smirks or leers. And then, in that moment as he saw Draco, so vulnerable with his mask ripped off, his heart cracked. It felt like it could be heard for miles, the crack. It snapped something inside of Harry and he made up his mind. 

He grabbed his wand and burst into action. With a swipe of his wand, he severed the chains binding Fleur’s sister and Draco. He wrapped his arm around Draco’s waist and his other arm around Fleur’s sister. 

The light flickered out. Time was up. 

A surge of adrenaline coursed through Harry and he moved. He moved like all of Voldemort’s Death Eaters and Voldemort himself were after him. He swam for the surface, the weight of the two limp bodies dragging him back down to the mermaid kingdom. But he kept swimming. 

In his arms, he felt Draco and Fleur’s sister stirring. Too far from the surface. If they breathed in, they would drown. He had to move faster, faster,  _ faster _ . 

Something slid into place and he surged upwards, bursting through the lake and shattering through the surface like it was glass. The cold winter air licked his face and he was out of the water, he had saved them. He vaguely noticed Fleur on the docks, screaming for her sister.  _ Gabrielle _ , he heard, but he was weak. 

The cold had suddenly become very stark and it stabbed through his skin and bit into his bones. He shuddered and shivered wherever it touched him, and he was weak, so weak he could barely move.

People were calling, he heard. Calling to get him out of the water and warmed up. He hardly noticed the hands that pulled him out of the lake and the spell that dried his clothes in moments. He didn’t comprehend the towels and blankets wrapped around his shoulders. He heard Ron running to him and saying “Blimey, mate.” He couldn’t respond.

Ron looked up as someone said something to him, and he muttered an apology as he took off running in the other direction. Harry only laid against a crate cocooned in the blanket.

Then his eyesight sharpened. His alertness returned and he stiffened slightly as a hand rested lightly on his shoulder. 

He was faintly aware of people watching them as Draco knelt in front of Harry and held his shoulder. “Thanks, Potter,” he only said. “For saving me.”

Harry felt all of his shields go up, sliding into place and hardening before his eyes. “I doubt you were in any danger to begin with,” he said, a little harshly.

“It’s a little odd, don’t you think?” 

“What’s odd?”

“That I was your hostage.”

“It’s none of your business what’s odd or not about me, Malfoy,” Harry said, shifting so Draco’s hand fell off his shoulder. The immediate lack of presence hit Harry like a truck. 

“I just thought it was, that’s all,” Draco replied. “Thanks again.” He got up and turned away, his shoulders slumped.  _ Only tiredness,  _ Harry told himself.  _ He’s just tired.  _

Then again, everyone saw him surface with Draco in his arm. Rumors would already be spreading. What was the harm in adding another rumor to the bunch? For a moment, Ron’s and Hermione’s horrified faces flashed in front of his eyes. He could lose his friends if he did this. 

But were they really his friends if he lost them like this?

In a daze, Harry pushed himself upwards. The blanket fell off his shoulders and he moved forward. Merlin’s shaggy grey beard, was he seriously going to do this? 

He had no answer to his question, but an image floated in front of his mind as he walked forward in what seemed like slow motion. 

He grabbed Draco’s arm, pulled him around. He saw surprise flash in the Slytherin’s eyes, then he kissed Draco full on the lips. 

In that moment, that moment that was stretched out into a thousand seconds, everything spun. It was spinning, spinning, spinning. He kissed Draco and  _ Draco kissed back _ . They kissed even though the whole world was watching and the whole world knew about it but Harry realized he didn’t care.

He didn’t care what they saw. He didn’t care if they saw a Gryffindor kissing a Slytherin, a boy kissing a boy, a savior kissing a catalyst, a good person kissing an evil person. Voldemort’s enemy kissing the son of Voldemort’s followers. Rita Skeeter would write about this, Harry knew.

At least he gave the Wizarding World a good story.

Finally, they split apart, panting and gasping for breath. The entirety of the three gathered schools was silent with shock. Whispers began to break out.

Then, one person clapped. 

It was unmistakable. The ginger hair, the freckled, grinning face. Ron Weasley was clapping. 

Shortly after, Hermione joined in.

Then Dumbledore, who was smiling because he remembered what it was like to be young and in love. Then Cedric and Fleur clapped. The entire Hufflepuff house clapped, then so did Ravenclaw, because they both valued inclusivity. After a stunned silence, Beauxbatons clapped. 

Then Gryffindor house erupted in cheers. They threw hats and scarves into the air. 

Then, finally, Slytherin clapped. It was small at first, then the whole house broke down their silent and stoic demeanor and clapped. Harry saw McGonagall smiling and clapping. Cho was clapping, Ginny was clapping. Fred and George were screaming wildly and waving a banner in the air that Harry suspected they had brought with them to the task.

It had a Gryffindor lion and a Slytherin snake, and the snake had its tail twisted around the lion’s paw. A peace banner. 

Draco turned to look at Harry, the raucous clapping and cheering almost deafening. But he could still hear Draco speak as he said: “Well, Potter, I guess that means we’re boyfriends.” He said it sarcastically, but he was smiling. He was happy, Harry realized. Then a moment later, it dawned on him. Harry was happy, too.

“It can’t be that bad to be my boyfriend, can it, Malfoy?” Harry replied, starting to smile a small smile.

Draco looked down, concealing a blush. “No, it can’t.” He looked around at the cheering mob.

Harry took a step closer to Draco and leaned his forehead on his. He kissed Draco lightly and smiled as he felt Draco smile against his lips. “Skeeter’s going to have the story of the century with this,” Harry whispered. Draco’s breath caressed his face and he almost sighed into the feeling.

“Let’s make it one hell of a story, then,” he promised, and this time it was Draco who kissed Harry. It was deeper than the first one, and Harry marveled at how well they seemed to fit together, like two puzzle pieces that couldn’t quite fit with any others, but slid seamlessly within each other. 

He cupped Draco’s cheek in his hand and his breath hitched as Draco leaned his face slightly into it. “Who would have ever expected this?” Harry said softly.

Draco’s eyes fluttered closed as he whispered back. “I always had my money on you, Harry Potter.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment to make my day and maybe let me know if you liked it. Thanks for reading, it means so much to me! Hope you enjoyed!


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